Gertrude Talks Back- Hamlet

Gertrude talks back by Margaret Atwood I always thought it was a mistake, calling you Hamlet. I mean, what kind of  name is that for a young boy?  It was your father's idea. Nothing would do but that you had to be called after him?  Selfish. The other kids at school used to tease the life out of you. The nicknames! And those terrible jokes about pork.  I wanted to call you George.  I am not wringing my hands. I'm drying my nails.  Darling, please stop fidgeting with my mirror. That'll be the third one you've broken.  Yes, I've seen those pictures, thank you very much.  I know your father was handsomer than Claudius. High brow, aquiline nose and so on, looked great in uniform. But handsome isn't everything, especially in a man, and far be it from me to speak ill of the dead, but I think it’s about time I pointed out to you that your dad just wasn't a whole lot of fun. Noble. Sure, I grant you.  But Claudius, well, he likes a drink now and then. He appreciates a decent meal. He enjoys a laugh, know what I mean? You don't always have to be tiptoeing around because of some holier-than-thou principle or something.  By the way, darling, I wish you wouldn't call your stepdad the bloat king. He does have a slight weight problem, and it hurts his feelings.  The rank sweat of what?  My bed is certainly not enseamed, whatever that might be! A nasty sty, indeed! Not that it's any of your business, but I change those sheets twice a week, which is more than you do, judging from that student slum pigpen in Wittenberg. I'll certainly never visit you there again without prior warning! I see that laundry of yours when you bring it home, and not often enough either, by a long shot! Only when you run out of black socks.  And let me tell you, everyone sweats at a time like that, as you'd find out if you ever gave it a try. A real girlfriend would do you a heap of good. Not like that pasty-faced what's-her-name, all trussed up like a prize turkey in those touch-me-not corsets of hers. If you ask me, there's something off about that girl. Borderline. Any little shock could push her right over the edge.  Go get yourself someone more down-to-earth. Have a nice roll in the hay. Then you can talk to me about nasty sties.  No darling, I am not mad at you. But I must say you're an awful prig sometimes. Just like your Dad. The Flesh, he'd say. You'd think it was dog dirt. You can excuse that in a young person, they are always so intolerant, but in someone his age it was getting, well, very hard to live with and that's the understatement of the year.  Some days I think it would have been better for both of us if you hadn't been an only child. But you realize who you have to thank for that. You have no idea what I used to put up with. And every time I felt like a little, you know, just to warm up my aging bones, it was like I'd suggested murder.  Oh!  You think what? You think Claudius murdered your Dad? Well, no wonder you've been so rude to him at the dinner table!  If I'd known that, I could have put you straight in no time flat.  It wasn't Claudius, darling.  It was me. Kadir Has Üniversitesi . All Rights Reserved. Khas Web Team

branagh act 1 scene 2 king's introduction

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 1

The Simpsons Hamlet edited for English ALG

Hamlet: Act 2 Following the plot

Hamlet Act 2   Keeping Track.

Scene 1

1. The scene begins with Polonius sending Reynaldo (the fox) to check up on Laertes. How is Reynaldo to find out exactly what Laertes is up to?
2. What do you feel this short scene tells the audience about Polonius?
3. When Ophelia enters the scene she describes an off-stage encounter with Hamlet. What took place during this meeting?
4. How does Polonius explain Hamlet’s behaviour, and what evidence does he use to support this theory?
5. Why do you think he decides to tell the king?
6. There has been a lapse of time between the first act and the second. Does this change in Hamlet surprise you?

Scene 2

7.  Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appeared in Elsinore, and how do the King and Queen persuade them to co-operate with their plans?
8. Why do these two co-operate so willingly?
9. Describe the terms of the treaty with Norway, which could be viewed as a diplomatic success.
10. What is Polonius’s explanation of Hamlet’s behaviour?
11. How does Polonius intend to put this to the test?
12. How does Hamlet behave towards Polonius when he enters the scene?
13. Is there method in Hamlet’s madness?
14. After Polonius leaves Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk to Hamlet.  What possible explanation do they have (Rosencrantz) for Hamlet’s “loss of mirth”?
15. How does Hamlet react to their probing?
16. Hamlet asks the Players to perform a particular speech, describing the killing of Priam by Pyrrhus (lines 456-502). What impression do you get of Pyrrhus, and how does the language of the speech create this impression?
17. The speech changes to the reaction of Hecuba to her husband’s cold-blooded slaughter. How does the Player react whilst performing this emotive speech?
18. Why do you think Hamlet asked for this speech? In what ways is Pyrrhus of interest to him? Are their any parallels between the two, Hecuba and Gertrude?

Hamlet:Student Commentary on Soliloquy 1

Hamlet’s First Soliloquy Commentary

By: Autumn 

Hamlet’s first soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 2, exemplifies Hamlet’s melancholic behavior with reasoning behind his unhappiness.  The literary devices, techniques and references help illustrate Hamlet’s life to be miserable and futile (useless) through his passionate soliloquy.  He struggles to accept the death of his beloved father and is disgusted by his mother’s remarriage to his uncle Claudius.

Hamlet mourns “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,” over the decease of his father, “a poor body.” Hamlet too, wished to die, as did his father, by committing suicide. This hints towards the central idea of the play.  Juxtaposing committing suicide to godlike conspiracies and his figure, in the eyes of god, committing suicide would be a sin, which therefore, prevented Hamlet to do so.  God is “Everlasting,” which juxtaposes to Hamlet’s death.  God’s body is eternal which contrasts to “thaw, resolving itself into a dew”, which Hamlet desired to become.  Death was “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!”  The idea of death was logically ineffective to Hamlet.       

His anger and despair gradually enhanced as Hamlet wept the words; “O God, a beast, that wants discourse of reason, would have mourned longer.” His uncle’s satisfaction was not balanced compared to Hamlet’s.  His precise image of his parent’s great relationship was an ache to tolerate.  The love that kept his parent’s bond was magnificent. “Must I remember?” shows Hamlet’s hardship in coping with the fact that his mother was re-married “within a month.” The time span between his father’s death, to his mother’s second marriage was at “wicked speed,” which made Hamlet question the true reason behind his mother’s marriage with uncle Claudius.  His mother did not mourn of her husband’s death. It also contributed to Hamlet’s melancholic behavior. To him, her previous marriage seemed perfect as “she would hang on him.”  The metaphor “Tis, an unweeded garden that grows to seed,” symbolizes that Hamlet’s mother was once a virgin, she was “unweeded,” but soon perished a “seed,” evidently making Claudius the garden who enticed the action.  Hamlet despised the idea of his mother’s re-marriage.  This is shown through an alteration in the text.  Hamlet begins to refer to his mother as his “lovely mother” then slowly modifies to “she.”  This demonstrates that Hamlet began to accuse his mother for marrying Uncle Claudius.    

Shakespeare then states Hamlet’s comparison, using a simile, between himself and his uncle, in relation to his father.  “My father’s brother, but no more like my father, than I to Hercules,” again, refers to a godlike figure. He is admiring his father while criticizing himself and his uncle.  Referring to past mythology has given allusions to support Hamlet’s thoughts and ideas.  “Hyperion to a satyr” also connects to mythology, followed by “so loving to my mother.”  This is an additional comparison between his father and uncle distinguishing that Hamlet’s father was an excellent king, unlike his uncle who was “Hyperion to a satyr.”  The play refers to biblical texts as well.  As stated earlier, the phrase “Tis an unweeded garden” refers to Hamlet’s mother being a virgin, as was Mary, in the bible.  She is Mary while Uncle Claudius represents Satan; creating a “seed.”  Furthermore, Hamlet’s mother signified Eve, within the Garden of Eden.  It was she, who picked the first apple off the tree: making a permanent mistake, just like she did, by marrying Hamlet’s uncle.          

Juxtapositions, comparisons, metaphors and similes were strong devices which allowed Hamlet’s sorrowful emotions to be revealed.  Not only, but the tone as well.  The tone of his first soliloquy is cold hearted and blunt.  As he talks to himself and thinks aloud, he justifies his personal feelings which are straight forward and regard serious topics.  The soliloquy in the play ‘Hamlet,’ allows the audience to grasp an insight on Hamlet’s thoughts.

     

Hamlet was very solemn, stressed and angry.  The imagery through his soliloquy was sinister.  Vocabulary words such as “stale, dead, rank, gross” and “unrighteous” were all used to emphasize his confused, furious and shady mood.  One powerful line quotes “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” clearly paints a vivid picture that because of the skill or “dexterity” of the uncle, Claudius was able to exploit the “incestuous sheets;” which refers to the bed which belonged to his mother and birth father.        

Through Hamlet’s first soliloquy, the audience tends to believe that Hamlet is truly mad, yet turns a blind eye towards the fact that he is actually posing antic disposition; which means to fake the severity of his madness.  In reality, Hamlet is not as mad as he acts; he tricked his friends and family.           

Hamlet’s first soliloquy did indeed allow the audience to be acquainted with Hamlet’s feelings and concerns.  It was also about the context and background of the setting.  His soliloquy proves that Hamlet was melancholic, which creates a sense of sympathy from the beginning. Hamlet had trouble coping with his father’s death and mother’s re-marriage. He quotes “But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue”…”it is not, nor it cannot come to good.” From this, Hamlet has hinted a main problem which will re-occur throughout the play. Literary devices and techniques help portray Hamlet’s personality; he is a solemn trickster with mad behavior.      

Hamlet Act 1: Following the Plot!

Hamlet

Act 1   Keeping Track

Scene 1

1. What mood and atmosphere are created in the first scene, how does Shakespeare achieve this effect?
2. How do Horatio and the sentries react to the Ghost? What is their understanding of its nature and intentions?
3. What do you learn from Horatio’s speech (lines 79 to 109) concerning current events in Denmark?
4. What do the references to the ‘king’ after line 41 tell you about the current attitude towards Hamlet’s father?

Scene 2

1. What is Claudius trying to do in his first speech (lines 1 – 16)?
2. How does he try to do this and in your opinion is he successful?
3. In lines 17 – 39 Claudius explains what he is doing to deal with the military and political crisis which threatens Denmark. How do you think he handles this situation?
4. How does Claudius deal with Laertes and Polonius when he deals with Laertes’ request to return to France( lines 42 – 62). What political skill does he show in this exchange?
5. What arguments do Claudius and Gertrude use to try and persuade Hamlet that he is behaving in an unreasonable way?
6. Hamlet reacts violently towards Gertrude at her use of ‘seems’. Why does this word  (line 76) have such significance for him and what does the strength of his attack reveal about Hamlet to the audience?
7. Hamlet’s first soliloquy reveals a mood of suicidal despair. Why does he feel like this? Is this mood justified by what has happened and what he knows?

Scene 3

1. Laertes and Polonius both offer Ophelia ‘good advice’. What does this scene reveal about their attitudes to people and life?
2. What do Polonius and Laertes think of Hamlet?

Scene 4 and 5

1. In these scenes Hamlet learns the ‘truth’ about his father’s murder and his mother’s betrayal. What is Hamlet’s initial reaction to the Ghost?(Scene 4 lines 39 – 57)?
2. How does the Ghost persuade Hamlet to take action(Scene 5)? Look at the language used and decide why he is so successful.
3. How does Hamlet react to the Ghost’s revelations?
4. What exactly has the Ghost persuaded Hamlet to do?
5. What do you think Hamlet should do now.What do you want him to do? What are the alternatives?
6. Does the fact that the ‘truth’ has been revealed by a ghost make any difference?
7. What do you understand from lines 195 – 196:

 ‘O cursed spite,

That ever I was born to set it right’?

Is Hamlet having doubts already?